When I moved to St Louis, my dear friend Mikki moved to Chicago, five hours away. Yeah for me! I’ve been able to spend many weekends away visiting her and enjoying the delights of that fabulous city. One of the delights??? Pizza!!! So with Mikki in town this weekend, I decided to take her to try out Pi, rated Best Pizza-Thick Crust by the Riverfront Times .It was DELICIOUS!!! They have an amazing cornmeal crust that is unlike anything I have tasted before. The only downfall is it is a little expensive for what you get ($18 for a pizza that just serves two).
Looking for cheaper pizza that is also delicious? David and I have recently been getting pizza from Whole Foods Market. It is so good, all natural, and only $8.99 on Wednesdays and Fridays for a ready to eat 16″ pizza! We are sold. Our other favorite pizza places in St Louis include Il Vicino (RFT’s Best Restaurant for a First Date) and Dewey’s Pizza (RFT’s Best Pizza-Thin Crust)
Tonight we had a wonderful time with our dear friends Luke and Karen Morton at Modesto, rated Best Tapas/Small Plates I was first exposed to tapas a few years ago in San Francisco and fell in love for one simple reason: I can never decide what to order at a restaurant because I’m always concerned I will be missing out on something else that is great, but with tapas, you can order one of everything!! With a pitcher of Sangria, small plates galore, and a flourless chocolate cake to top it off…we were happy campers. After a night like this, maybe David and I should add Spain onto our Europe itinerary.
What we ordered:
Trucha Ahumada de la Casa – house-smoked trout with Serrano bacon, membrillo, and lemon vinaigrette
Filete de Ternera con Samfaina – roasted veal slices with creamy roasted vegetable sauce and fried capers
Coliflor Refrita – fried cauliflower with paprika, garlic and white truffle oil
Queso Frito – fried Manchego cheese with shallot vinaigrette
Arroz Negro – creamy black rice with lobster and citrus aioli
Mejillones en Salsa de Sidra – mussels steamed in hard cider with chorizo and peppers
Pinchos Morunos – grilled lamb skewers with herb picada and yogurt
Dátiles Rellenos – bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with Cabrales cheese
Pinchitos de Puerco – marinated pork tenderloin skewers with preserved lemon
Torte de Chocolate– flourless chocolate and hazelnut cake with Pedro Ximinez
whipped cream
Ok…I know you are thinking that we must be total pigs. But really, it was just enough to feed the four of us. Sorry for the lack of food pictures, we were so busy eating that I didn’t even think about my camera until after the last dish came. Instead you get pictures of my big Sangria smile and rosy Sangria cheeks!
Filed under: Restaurants
Today is David’s 30th birthday! Just kidding…he’s 29 and HATES when I call him 30. I think he has an age complex because he married someone so young. Because he has such a wonderful wife, he woke up to a birthday treat from our favorite donut shop in St Louis, Lamar’s. We then celebrated his birthday with friends. His requests for the day? Donuts, chili with no beans, cornbread, chocolate cake, football and friends. What the boy wants, the boy gets. And after he sees the picture I posted below, I’m going to have to give him all that he wants for a very long time. It’s worth it though.
One hour before our friends arrived David decided to try out his new birthday present, a pasta machine. Perfect timing. I made him close down shop 5 minutes before everyone came, but not before he had made some delicious looking carrot fettuccine. Now how can I stifle such creativity? Especially when it means I don’t have to cook dinner tomorrow! Happy birthday lovey.
This morning David and I visited the Missouri Botanical Gardens, rated RFT’s Best Stroll. We agree. Even though it was freezing cold it was still a wonderful place to walk around and admire the local beauty. We insisted on eating at the restaurant there for two reasons: it is the first Certified Green Restaurant in Missouri, and it’s name is Sassafras. Many of you do not know that Sassafras is one of my many creative nicknames. Why? Because David says it’s short for sassy ass. Try to figure that one out. Here are pictures from the Best Stroll in St Louis. (Notice the beautiful Chihuly glass.)
Over the last few months Brenna and I have been helping a “friend”–pardon the anonymity–launch a(n) (underground) restaurant. For those of you in urban centers, such as Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago, this probably is not a new concept. But to bring the rest of you up to speed, I’ll give you a brief explanation. Our friend writes:
An underground restaurant is really an old idea: the best meals are those prepared with care and attention and shared with a small intimate group of friends, both new and old. The appeal of the underground restaurant is that you become acquainted with the story of your food, the story of how it is prepared for you, and finally the stories of those people with whom you will eat. you may end up at a table full of people you know, or you may eat with complete strangers. That is part of the appeal. Food is, and always has been, a communal thing. It’s purpose is not merely to keep us from starving but to give us pleasure, and a focal point around which we could gather. The limitless possibilities of food are a constant reminder to me that this is not simply a sensual pleasure, but a reminder that food is a gift intended to bless.
To this end, our “friend”, the chef, sends out an anonymous email inviting friends and strangers to a meal at an undisclosed location. The menu is fixed and usually contains between 5-6 courses with accompanying wine pairings. The invitees then have the opportunity to visit a password protected website and make reservations. Seating is limited and often “sells-out” quickly. Guests are then supplied additional emails leading up to the event, further outlining the food and the event’s location.
So far, two meals have been successfully completed. While I’ve been in the kitchen most of the time, it’s been interesting seeing and hearing the eclectic group of guests we’re cooking for. Doctors, students, food critics, restaurant owners–most of whom have never met each other–crowd around closely arranged tables, diving into diverse conversations ranging from art and politics to work and family. As fragmented as our culture is, food and festal eating serve to bring us together; and it’s been really fun to be a part of this movement of hospitality.
We’re helping with the third dinner this Saturday evening. The menu is as follows:
first: warm salad with sliced pear and duck prosciutto
beer: schlafly pale ale
second: acorn squash soup with creme fraiche
beer: schlafly bierre de garde
third: blood orange confit
fourth: pancetta wrapped elk loin with wild mushroom risotto
beer: schlafly apa
fifth: butternut squash ice cream with sage shortbread
beer: schlafly pumpkin ale
If you’re in Saint Louis and would like to attend this weekend, or future events, shoot me an email and I’ll send you in the right direction.
“Cooking and serving food, then, has a wide number of possibilities, and as everyone eats every day, it is no exaggeration to say that it affects every one of us. One could speculate as what difference it would make if we took this form of art [eating] seriously, with at least some degree of sensitivity for producing and enjoying the beauty which will increase and enhance communication.” –Edith Schaeffer
“In the Bible the food that man eats, the world of which he must partake in order to live, is given to him by God, and it is given as communion with God. The world as man’s food is not something “material” and limited to material functions, thus different from, and opposed to, the specifically “spiritual” functions by which man is related to God. All that exists is God’s gift to man, and it all exists to make God known to man, to make man’s life communion with God. It is divine love made food, made life for man. God blesses everything He creates, and, in biblical language, this means that He makes all creation the sign and means of His presence and wisdom, love and revelation: “O taste and see that the Lord is good.”” — Alexander Schmemann
As I was reading the Best Of list, there was one that made my tummy rumble…Best BBQ: Pappy’s Smokehouse. Now the thing is, this restaurant also got voted Best New Restaurant which gave me even more of a reason to visit. Since moving to St Louis, David and I have developed a passion (obsession/addiction…whatever) for pulled pork sandwiches. We consider ourselves quite the experts these days. Now the real reason we visited Pappy’s (as if the other reason’s weren’t enough) is that we had to compare it to our favorite BBQ restaurant, Plush Pig BBQ. It’s a really hard job, but someone has to do the dirty work to make sure that the readers of the Riverfront Times and this blog have the most accurate information on where to find the best pulled pork sandwich in St Louis. We have decided on certain criteria to rate our experiences at these two restaurants: sandwich, sauce, sides and service.
Sandwich: Pappy’s has better buns, but Plush Pig might have slightly more tender meat. Both are DELICIOUS!
Sauce: Pappy’s has a better selection (Holly’s Hotsauce, Sweet Baby Jane’s and Pappy’s Original). You can choose one or slop on all three like I did. However, we both agreed that Plush Pig’s sauce tasted better and is therefore the winner, even though there aren’t as many choices. Also, they come on the table in huge glass bottles instead of the traditional plastic ones…very classy.
Sides: This was very difficult. Pappy’s lets you choose two sides. The choices include green beans, slaw, potato salad, sweet potato fries, fried corn on the cob, baked beans, and applesauce. I had the beans and potato salad. I regret passing up the sweet potato french fries…what was I thinking? David had the slaw and fried corn which he immediately said was the best corn he has ever tasted. Next time I will get the sweet potatoes and baked beans. Or maybe the corn and sweet potatoes. Or the applesauce and baked beans. Or the applesauce and corn. Yes, I will get the applesauce and corn. But what about the sweet potato french fries?? Ahhhh!!. Plush Pig allows you one side and they have a mean potato salad and great french fries. They also have a macaroni and cheese that blows all the other sides (from either place) away. So the real question: One great side or two really good sides? We both voted and the winner is….Pappy’s. With the amazing fried corn and another side thrown in, you really can’t go wrong.
Service, etc: Plush Pig is closer to home but has crazy and unpredictable hours. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been there and they’ve been closed even though it’s during their business hours. We’ve learned to always call first. On the other hand, Pappy’s had our food on our table by the time we had chosen a table…now that is service!! Also, the man who took our order was one of the starters of the restaurant instead of some teenager needing an after school job. Both restaurants have the prerequisites of paying first when your hands are still clean and rolls of paper towels waiting for you on the table. As far as price… who cares! A good pulled pork is priceless.
So, as far as the best pulled pork in St Louis, the winner is …………….NEITHER!! The best sandwich we ever got was from two guys and a grill. Best sauce, best meat, best buns, best experience. And there were no sides to even speak of. We ate it at 9:15 in the morning some Saturday at a farmer’s market. We waited in line with many others, coffee in hand, drooling over that pork butt one fine St Louis morning! We still love both Pappy’s and Plush Pig and are willing and ready to sample any other pulled pork sandwich put before us. For now, enjoy the pictures of our day at Pappy’s.
Today was a beautiful 82 degree St Louis day. 82 degrees in the middle of October…so much for my back to fall clothes (I don’t get back to school clothes anymore, but everyone qualifies for back to fall clothes). As we are in our last year here in St Louis, it has been my mission to make sure we leave here having made the most of our time. Lately the Riverfront Times made a “Best Of” list which I am bound and determine to utilize. I find that after 3 years in Missouri there is a shocking amount of St Louis experiences I have not partaken of. I was however proud that many of the things listed I have discovered on my own… good to know they are the best so I won’t go looking for an alternative. So today marked the beginning of our tour through the Best Of’s. Since it is so gorgeous… and the bloody cold winter is knocking on our door… we decided to go to lunch at the restaurant with the Best Outdoor Seating.
It is in one of our favorite neighborhood, DeMun. Sasha’s Wine Bar made for an extremely enjoyable Sunday brunch. Rarely do I go to a restaurant that I would order ANYTHING from the menu, but this was one of those experiences. Sweet crepes, savory creates, and much much more. David decided on the Prosciutto and Italian Fontina Crepe. I got the Eggs New Orleans–Eggs Benedict with crabcakes, served with potato pancake, maple cured bacon and fresh fruit. Mmmm…
Three things about my meal choice will shock most people I know, including myself. First, right next door at Kaldi’s is my all time favorite meal in St Louis, their black bean nachos. Second, I barely glanced at the sweet crepes. Third, I chose Eggs Benedict over the Brioche french toast with carmalized bananas. Who am I and where did Brenna go??? All I can say is I’m branching out…and how can you pass up crabcakes? My mom told me today she was worried my blog would be food obsessed. My answer to that: I am food obsessed and my blog will most likely reflect who I am. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. As far as the Best Outdoor Eating? It was nice…but HOT! That’s why David looks a little cranky in all the pictures…
